What’s the Difference Between High-bay and Low-bay Lighting?

What is high bay lighting?

High-bay lighting is industrial lighting that is designed to be installed at “high” level. High-bay lights are the same as low-bay but they have an additional lens to help focus the light according to the requirements of the space..

How high do high bay lights need to be?

Generally high bay lights are used for mounting heights >8m.

What is the best high bay lighting?

The best high bay lighting must be:

• effective
• reliable
• low cost (whilst still being reliable)
• purchased from an established and trustworthy company (such as LEDSAVE – just in case something goes wrong)

How many high bay lights do I need?

The number of high bay (or indeed any lights) required can only accurately be determined by computer simulation. This takes into account the lumen output of the light together with factors including;

• the area use, (for example, is the area to be illuminated and used for precision engineering or for storage?)
• dimensions of the area
• wall, floor and ceiling colours

At LEDSAVE we use RELUX software for lighting calculations.

What is a low bay lighting?

Low-bay lighting is industrial lighting that is designed to be installed at “low” level

What mounting height marks qualify for low bay and high bay?

The mounting height for low-bays is typically <8m, and the mounting height for high-bays is typicaly >8m, although in some cased low bays can be used at heights greater than 8m. This can only be determined by computer similation.

The table below shows a typical installation of the LEDSAVE Ultra-Fast ROI LED high bay / low bay series:

400W HID  150W LED Power / W400150Number of fittings1010Hours / day1010Days / week55Weeks / year4848Hours / year2,4002,400

How much do you save with the new 150W LED range?

Element400W HID150W LEDElectricity cost (£ / KWh)£0.15£0.15Cost electricity per year£1,440.00£540.00Electricity Savings / year–£900.00Cost of LED High Bay (Ex VAT)–£74.50Total cost LED High Bay (Ex VAT)–£745.00Break-even point (when you start making money)–9 Months!Estimated Lifetime (hrs)–50,000Lifetime aat estmated usage / years –21Savings over estimated lifetime*–£18,005.00Warranty period / years–5Savings over warranty period*–£3,755.00*Excludes cost of re-lamping HID fittings

How many low bays or high bays do I need, and what wattage should I choose?

For new installations, the number of low bays / high bays and the best wattage can only be determined by computer software simulation. At LEDSAVE we use Relux Light Planning Software to calculate this.

For retrofit installations, the lights are mainly replaced one-for-one, as this minimises installation costs and it’s possible to “guess” the LED wattage required as long as the wattage and lighting technology of the original lights is known.

Updated: 19-01-2023